Soft Touch
by satinmagick
Summary: For the past 7 years Miriam Chide has worked tirelessly to become a Detective at Manhattan's 16th precinct in the Special Victims Unit in order meet her father whom she never knew. Little does she know that this will show her the dark side of humanity tha


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that appear in this series (even though I want to).

O/C: Miriam Chide, her mom, and a few others that will pop up throughout the story. If they weren't on the show, then I own 'em. Tee hee. All mine!...sorry...

Chapter One

Detective Miriam Chider stared at the elevator doors ignoring the looks that were being thrown her way by an elderly man in handcuffs being escorted by a uniformed officer. Her thoughts ran in circles around each other, doubt and fear gnawed at her.

_What if he doesn't believe me? What if he doesn't want me? _She could feel her skin heating up and knew she was turning a deep red. _Deep breaths. Just take deep breaths. Everything's gonna be okay. _

The elevator's stop pulled her out of her thoughts and brought her focus back to what it was she was about to do. She was about to turn a man's life upside down without any warning. She supposed it would serve her right if he didn't want anything to do with her. She hadn't even called.

The soles of her black high heels clicked against the grey linoleum floor. She pulled down on her black vest, straightening it and her white blouse. It had taken her all day to find the right outfit. Her casual clothes were too casual and her work clothes made her look stuffy. Evening or formal wear was out. Who wore that to a police station? In the end she had chosen her nicest dress suit with long pleated pants. She left her waist length blonde hair undone, setting off the somberness of her outfit with something that made her look less formal, more approachable. Her badge was tucked safely inside her vest pocket. Since she was off duty, she had elected to leave her gun behind. Besides, it was too bulky for this vest.

An officer on the first floor had told her where the Special Victims Unit could be found so with deliberate steps she headed though the glass doors. One thing about police stations, you'd seen one, you'd seen them all. Just like home in LA there were long desks, spaced out to allow movement and these desks were piled with personal parafanailia, pictures of friends and family, small religious statues or post-its with inspirational or humourous quotes. The room smelled of take-out, paper, and there was the feint hint of guns. The flourescent lights lit up the room, driving shadows into the deepest corners, as if the police were trying to physically chase away the evil that they strove to prevent every day.

Near the back of the rectangular room a white board stood on metal legs. Black marker was scrawled across nearly every surface that wasn't covered by a photo. For a moment Miriam forgot what she had come to the precinct to do and found herself being pulled toward the board. In the middle of the board was a picture of a teenage girl, brunette, pretty. Beside her were pictures of a handsome man in a license photograph and a few older men, pictures also from a license photograph. The details the case was written out around her. Amanda Richards, age 16. Found dead, signs of rape but no DNA. Last seen with Mark Jacobs, age 23, MIA since Amanda went missing 4 days before her body was found.

Before she could move onto the details about the older men, a woman's voice startled her.

"Excuse me. Can I help you?"

Miriam turned and smiled sheepishly. Pulling her badge from her pocket, she showed it to the tall brunette woman before her. "I'm sorry. I'm detective Miriam Chider. I'm from homicide, LA. I just transferred here to SVU. I'm actually a few days early. I don't officially start till Tuesday."

The look of irate indignation faded from the woman's face. "Oh, hello. I'm detective Benson. Olivia."

Olivia offered her hand to Miriam who took it gladly. "Hi. Um, I actually came a few days early because, well, I'm looking for a detective John Munch. Is he here?"

A man, standing close to a nearby coffee pot turned towards them. "I'm detective Munch. How can I help you?"

Miriam dropped Olivia's hand and stared at the man before her. He looked the same from the worn-out picture she always carried in her wallet, except for the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth were more prominent and his hair was now a salt and pepper color. But there was no doubt that this was the same man in her mother's photo.

Slowly she extended her hand to him, shaking slightly. He came forward and shook it strongly. As soon as their hands met something inside Miriam broke. She let out a small gasp and tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh my god."

"Are you okay?" Much laid a hand on her shoulder and stared at her with concern etched on his brow. "Do you need anything?"

Miriam squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "No. No. I'm sorry, it's just," She stared up into his eyes, "I've been waiting for this day my whole life."

"I'm sorry?"

"My name is Miriam Chider. Sonya Chider was my mother." She paused. It was now or never. The words stuck in her throat, _Breath, Breath, _"I'm your daughter."

Theme Music

Munch sat across from the young woman who had just walked in and claimed to be his daughter, in one of the precinct's interrogation rooms. Olivia had suggested using the empty room for privacy. He stared at her in disbelief. How could he have a daughter and not know about it? How could Sonya have never told him?

"How did this happen?" He asked.

Miriam stared down at her lap for a few seconds. "Mom said that you guys had a one night stand after too much to drink. And then you left and she was so mad at you that she didn't want you to be in my life. I-I didn't know about you till I was 18. I found an old picture of you and my mom." Miriam pulled her wallet out of a small purse she carried with her and slipped out the picture. Munch took the picture from her, still dazed. "It took me a while, but I finally got her to tell me who you were. It was easy enough to track you down after that. The internet you know." She laughed slightly. "But mom made me promise that I wouldn't look for you till after she died." Tears slid down her cheeks. "She died last year of breast cancer."

"I-I'm so sorry. I wish I had known." He laid his hand over hers on the table.

Miriam looked up at him and smiled. Munch smiled back at her; she had her mother's smile, there was no doubt about it. A knock on the interrogation room door interrupted them. Olivia peeked her head in and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, but we need you for a second Munch."

Munch looked back at his daughter and felt his heart tighten. She had tears in her eyes but was still smiling. "It's okay." She stood up and Munch stood with her. "I should be going. I'm sorry I bothered you at work. I just didn't think I could do this over the phone."

Munch placed an arm around her shoulder and led her though the door and back to the where she had first met Olivia, in front of the whiteboard. Standing in a semi circle around it were the rest of the crack team that Munch was proud to call his colleagues and his friends. Captain Creagan stood at the side of the board his hands firmly stuffed in his work suit pockets. Eliot Stabler was leaning against a desk his arms crossed firmly over his chest what would pass for a scowl on his face. Munch's partner Fin stood beside him, a manila folder in hand.

Miriam, for lack of a better way to describe it, felt all warm at fuzzy inside. She had finally found her father and so far he was amazing. He hadn't even freaked like she had expected him to, or denied that she was his daughter. The feeling began to fade as she was faced with the three men standing before her. She had entered the police academy when she was 18 and had quickly shot through the ranks until she had been made a detective a few months' prior. For seven years she had seen the loyalty that bound officers to their partners, and several times she had seen what could happen to a person if that loyalty was put into question or if an outsider interfered somehow. She would need to play this very carefully.

End of chapter one...

Okay, I hope you guys liked it. This is my first Law and Order SVU fanfic. Please tell me what you think and other such things!


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